Confused by all the talk of vote validation? 🗳️We can't let spam-bots decide who gets the crown! 🤖 So we can only count verified votes. Once you've submitted your picks, you're just a click away from verification. ✅ #BOTY2025 #BirdoftheYear2025 #BirdoftheYear #NZBirdoftheYear

Top predators matter. Skuas matter. The whole food web depends on them doing their job just as much as it depends on primary producers. Vote for a bird who lives wild & free. Vote skua #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

What counts is who you give it to. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 #skua #skuasforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

Let's not kid ourselves. Vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

We're a week into voting with one more to go, whānau ngā manu. Don't do something you might later regret. Vote SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Vote for the bird as BOLD and ORIGINAL as you are. Vote Hākoakoa #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

This year, vote for the hero you need. Vote Hākoakoa | Skua Bird of the Year. #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Remember, we're on your side. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Life is hard at sea. All seabirds are remarkable survivors, and many of them need better help than humans are providing. Vote Hākoakoa #birdoftheyear2025 but please, then stay engaged. Find out more about what you can do. @forestandbird.bsky.social

🤩 That's us! Look at that handsome bird! Let's see... Tarāpuka? Tarāpunga? Koekoeā? Toroa? Who else is shouty?

Macquarie Island is now pest-free, but for a time, Skuas were the ones on the job. Pest eradication practices took a toll on Skuas, but plants and birds are both rebounding. Vote for the bird who was there for you when you didn't even know it. Vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Vote for the bird who cleans up the mess. Vote SKUA #birdofhteyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

The Skua Ultimatum: VOTE SKUA for #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Don't put me on a pedestal, just vote SKUA #birdoftheyear2025 #skuaforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

Enrich a movie by adding your pick for #BirdOfTheYear The Power of the Skua

A bird's just gotta go its own way. Vote Skua for #birtdoftheyear2025

Vote for the bird who's better than you think. Vote Skua #birdoftheyear2025 @forestandbird.bsky.social

Looks like a cozy nest site to me. Sensible parents, skuas make their nests near where the resources are - colonies of other birds and seals. Vote for the bird that puts family first - vote Hākoakoa Skua for #birdoftheyear2025 #skua #skuasforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

It's family values day here at Team Hākoakoa. You'll struggle to find a bird more devoted to its chicks than Skua. Just look at that fuzzy brown face. How could you not vote Skua for #birdoftheyear2025? #Skua @forestandbird.bsky.social

Vote Skua for Bird of the Year. We're an evolutionary masterpiece. #birdoftheyear2025 #skuaforever @forestandbird.bsky.social

After an online course by somebody who knows more than we do about this stuff (@sarahmackattack.bsky.social) we are getting our sticker game into gear. Loud, proud, skua.

It's almost time! @forestandbird.bsky.social #birdoftheyear2025 voting starts Monday, the 15th. A friendly reminder from the folks here at Team Hākoakoa to make your votes count. Vote SKUA.

Bird books say we're "large, noisy and aggressive” to which we say: you got a problem with that? Somebody’s gotta clean up the carcasses and sort the weak from the strong. Vote Hākoakoa Subantarctic Skua for Bird of the Year. #skua #forestandbird #birdoftheyear2025 Photo by Ross Brooks